.  -M, 

me. 


x 


Mission  Work  of 
California  F riends 


ISSUED  BY 

AMERICAN  FRIENDS  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 

RICHMOND,  INDIANA 
1912 


MISSION  WORK  OF  CALIFORNIA  YEARLY 

MEETING 

Foreword 

While  yet  a  part  of  Iowa  Yearly  Meeting,  California 
Friends  had  several  strong  W.  F.  M.  Societies,  and  were 
helping  with  much  interest  in  the  work  of  that  Yearly  Meet¬ 
ing  at  Ram  Allah,  Syria. 

Alaska 

The  mission  work  in  California  Yearly  Meeting  of 
Friends  in  Alaska  was  undertaken  to  answer  the  call  of 
Anna  Hunnicutt,  a  student  volunteer  of  Penn  College,  to 
go  to  Northern  Alaska.  In  1895  she  expressed  herself  as 
ready  to  go  at  the  Lord’s  bidding  and  she  felt  Alaska  was 
the  field,  but  the  Yearly  Meeting  was  just  organizing  and 
felt  too  small  and  weak  to  open  a  new  station.  However, 
there  was  an  opening  for  Anna  Hunnicutt  and  Lizzie 
Morris,  both  members  at  Whittier,  California,  to  work  with 
the  missionaries  to  the  Kake  Indians  on  Kuprianoff  Island, 
Southeast  Alaska,  under  the  care  of  Oregon  Yearly  Meeting. 
Anna  Hunnicutt  was  supported  by  the  Christian  Endeavors 
of  California  Yearly  Meeting  and  Lizzie  Morris  felt  called 
of  the  Lord  to  accompany  her  and  both  went  as  mission¬ 
aries.  ,  ^ 

The  following  year  Anna  Hunnicutt,  who  had  gone  out 
desiring  to  find  a  work  for  California  Yearly  Meeting,  ac¬ 
cepted  work  as  a  Government  teacher  at  the  mission  on 
Douglas  Island  in  Southeast  Alaska,  under  the  care  of  Kan¬ 
sas  Yearly  Meeting.  Charles  and  May  Replogle  were  in 
charge  of  the  work  at  this  point.  The  United  States  Com¬ 
missioner  for  Education  in  Alaska  was  then  Dr.  Sheldon 
Jackson.  To  him  Anna  Hunnicutt  made  known  her  desire 
to  press  on  northward. 

In  the  summer  of  1896  while  on  his  annual  trip.  Dr.  Jack- 


son  visited  “The  Rendezvous’’  on  Kotzebue  Sound  (Cape 
Blossom)  250  miles  northeast  of  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  and 
almost  under  the  Arctic  circle.  This  place  was  so  called  be¬ 
cause  of  the  great  number  of  natives  who  gathered  there 
from  up  the  three  rivers  that  pour  their  waters  into  the 
Arctic  ocean  at  this  point,  and  from  Siberia  and  from  other 
places.  They  met  here  each  summer  to  trade.  Two  mis¬ 
sions  had  already  been  established  far  to  the  north  of  this 
point  by  the  Episcopalians  and  Presbyterians  and  through 
these  agencies  the  Eskimos  had  come  to  have  a  great  desire 
for  missionaries  and  Christian  teachers.  As  Dr.  Jackson 
held  a  three  days’  meeting  with  them  this  summer  of  1896, 
they  begged  him  to  send  some  one  to  remain  with  them.  He 
replied  that  his  own  church,  the  Presbyterian,  could  not 
undertake  any  more  missions  at  that  time,  but  he  thought 
there  was  some  one  at  Douglas  who  might  come,  and  he 
would  try  to  send  her  to  them.  After  he  had  left  them  on 
his  return  trip,  they  held  a  council  and  decided  to  send  some 
one  to  Douglas  begging  for  immediate  action.  They  there¬ 
fore  delegated  two  of  their  strong  men  to  make  the  trip. 
It  was  now  too  late  in  the  autumn  for  any  passing  vessel  so 
they  rowed  250  miles  to  the  southwest  in  an  open  canoe 
uhtil  they  reached  Cape  Prince  of  W ales,  and  from  this 
point  they  found  a  boat  which  took  them  to  Sitka  and  from 
there  they  made  their  way  to  Douglas  to  present  their  plea. 

Anna  Hunnicutt  was  away  for  a  short  visit,  but  .they 
stated  their  case  to  Charles  Replogle  and  he  told  them  he 
would  do  what  he  could  for  them.  On  hearing  of  their  faith 
and  self-sacrifice  Anna  Hunnicutt  felt  convinced  this  was 
where  the  Lord  would  have  her  go.  She,  therefore,  wrote 
asking  whether  California  Yearly  Meeting  would  stand  be¬ 
hind  her. 

As  Charles  and  May  Replogle  and  Anna  Hunnicutt 
prayed,  the  impression  came  that  it  would  be  right  for 
Charles  Replogle  to  visit  California,  but  he  had  no  funds  for 
the  trip. 


2 


C')!!  to  the  postofficc  one  day  lie  received  a  letter 

containini;-  a  check  from  a  h'riend  in  Maine,  saying  she  felt 
iinjircsscd  to  send  him  this  for  a  trip  to  the  States.  That 
very  day  a  steamer  was  to  sail  south,  and  in  an  incredibly 
sluirt  time  he  was  aboard  the  steamer,  bound  for  California. 
On  reaching  here  almost  his  whole  time  and  energy  were 
given  to  urging  Friends  to  faithfulness  in  entering  this  open 
door.  Anna  Hunnicutt  had  no  idea  that  this  was  to  be  the 
burden  of  his  visit,  neither  did  he,  himself  in  coming,  but  as 
a  result  of  it,  Anna  Hunnicutt  returned  to  California  in  the 
■early  spring  time  and  once  more  laid  her  concern  before  the 
AMman’s  Foreign  Mission  Society. 

Faith  began  to  leap  up  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
in  each  of  the  two  quarterly  meetings,  Pasadena  and  Whit¬ 
tier,  who,  with  the  Christian  Endeavor  Board,  should  confer 
with  the  W.  F.  M.  S.  and  learn  all  that  was  possible  of  the 
outlook.  They  reported  that  the  necessary  money  would  be 
■forthcoming  if  suitable  persons  could  be  found  to  accom- 
jiany  Anna  Hunnicutt. 

Robert  Samms,  a  member  of  Los  Angeles  Meeting  and 
a  mission  worker  offered  to  go  alone  the  first  year  and  build 
'a  house  and  do  the  pioneer  work.  This  seemed  too  lonely  a 
trip  and  Carrie  Rowe,  his  intended  wife,  expressed  her  will¬ 
ingness  to  go  with  him.  Now,  with  the  necessary  com¬ 
panions  to  go  with  her  and  the  funds  promised  to  outfit 
them,  it  certainly  seemed  that  the  Lord  was  lending  His 
approval.  These  three  were  set  apart  to  this  service  Fifth 
month  loth,  1897.  The  marriage  of  Robert  Samms  and 
Carrie  Rowe  was  solemnized  Fifth  month,  12th,  and  in  short 
time  the  outfits  were  purchased,  including  building  mate¬ 
rials  for  a  house,  food  and  clothing,  supplies  for  one  year, 
and  all  the  incidentals.  They  said  their  farewells  and  turned 
their  faces  to  the  North  Land,  sailing  from  San  Francisco 
on  the  9th  of  Sixth  month,  for  a  sixty  days’  voyage  in  a  sail¬ 
ing  vessel. 

The  season  after  they  landed  was  too  short  for  much 

■  3 


Avork,  so  a  temporary  house  8x12  was  built  for  the  first  year. 
The  natives  were  found  in  a  state  of  expectancy  and  gave 
our  missionaries  a  Avelcome.  The  native  huts  were  visited 
in  spite  of  their  filth,  and  the  people  were  gathered  into 
meetings  in  the  school  room,  and  the  personal  work  brought 
a  response  in  the  improved  life  of  the  natives  and  a  readiness 
to  receive  the  light  as  rapidly  as  they  could  understand  it. 

The  year  1898  marked  the  influx  of  miners  all  through 
Alaska  and  there  was  great  cause  for  thankfulness  that  the 
“soul-seekers”  had  preceded  the  “gold  seekers.”  Among  the 
miners  entering  the  country  at  Kotzebue  were  a  few 
Friends;  some  mission  work  was  done  by  them  far  up  the 
Kobuck  River  where  there  has  since  been  a  mission  estab¬ 
lished. 

In  1899  Anna  Ffunnicutt  was  married  to  Z.  E.  Foster  and 
left  that  field.  Her  place  was  taken  by  Martha  E.  Hadley 
(now  Trueblood)  of  Wilmington  Yearly  Meeting,  Ohio, 
who  gave  her  labor  of  love  to  that  mission  field  for  four 
years. 

In  1901  Richard  Glover  went  to  Kotzebue  for  a  part  of 
the  year  to  assist  in  carpenter  work  and  other  needful  ways. 
A  trip  involving  several  hundred  miles  on  foot  over  the 
snow  with  snow  shoes  and  dog  sleds  for  carrying  supplies 
was  taken  by  Robert  and  Carrie  Samms,  the  second  winter 
of  their  stay,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  natives  in  their 
winter  homes. 

In  1902  Robert  and  Carrie  Samms  came  home  after  five 
years  of  service.  Dana  and  Otha  Thomas,  workers  in  the 
Sunshine  Mission  of  San  Francisco,  took  charge  of  the  work 
at  Kotze])ue  and  were  in  the  work  for  four  years.  Bertha. 
Cox  writes  of  their  work  under  date  of  April,  1906:  “It  is 
wonderful,  the  work  that  has  been  done  there,  both  temporal 
and  spiritual.  Without  the  heart  experience  there  could 
not  have  been  so  radical  a  change  in  their  lives.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Thomas  have  certainly  done  a  great  work ;  they  have  a 
place  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.”  Anna  Hunnicutt 

4 


warm 


I'ostor  aiul  Iior  liiishaiul  were  at  Deering',  some  slxty- 

I'ivo  iiiilos  soulluvcst  of  Kotzebue  and  she  had  l)een  teaehing 
the  natives.  In  1904  they  asked  the  Yearly  Meeting  to  take 
charge  of  the  work  by  sending  a  teacher  to  the  field  and  this 
was  done  in  the  j)erson  of  Bertha  Cox,  of  Oregon  (now  Ber¬ 
tha  Cox  King,  of  Seattle),  who  gave  in  all  four  years  to  the 
work.  Her  work  was  very  satisfactory  and  highly  com¬ 
mended  by  the  officials  of  the  Government. 

In  1905  William  T.  and  Lizzie  Morris  Gooden  were  ac¬ 
cepted  for  the  station  at  Deering,  because  of  the  return  of 
the  Fosters  to  their  home.  They  remained  at  that  place 
for  three  years  and  then,  after  a  year’s  rest  in  the  home 
land,  returned  at  the  call  of  the  Lord  and  opened  a  mission 
at  Candle  some  fort}^  miles  east  of  Deering,  expecting  to 
come  out  this  summer  of  1912.  They  have  been  faithful 
missionaries,  as  have  the  others.  At  the  latter  station  their 
needs  have  been  supplied  by  friends,  by  the  Mission  Board 
of  the  Yearly  Meeting  to  a  small  extent  and  by  the  help  of 
the  natives.  William  Gooden  has  also  worked  some  for  the 
miners. 

In  1905  a  new  station  was  opened  at  Kivalena  on  the 
coast,  about  100  miles  northwest  of  Kotzebue,  in  charge  of 
Alfred  and  Priscilla  Walton,  who  were  in  the  field  three 
years.  We  quote  in  full  from  the  report  of  the  missionary 
superintendent  of  California  Yearly  Meeting  in  the  minutes 
of  1908:  ‘'At  Kivalena,  the  most  northern  Friends  Mission 
in  the  world,  severe  testings  and  trials  have  come  to  our 
dear  workers,  Alfred  and  Priscilla  Walton.  Sickness  and 
death  bring  suffering  and  gloom  to  us  here.  Few  can  realize 
what  it  means  up  there,  away  from  the  natural  sunshine, 
away  from  the  flowers  and  the  loving  sympathy  of  friends. 
I  think  I  can  never  forget  the  picture  of  Alfred  Walton 
alone  in  the  dreariness  of  the  Arctic  dark,  alone  with  his 
wife  and  his  babies,  two  little  ones  crying  for  food  that  he 
could  not  give  them,  the  sick  w*ife  for  days  on  her  bed  of 


5 


sickness  crying  out  her  deliriuni.  No  medical  help,  no 
trained  nurse,  the  new  born  babe.  No  wonder  the  poor 
man  wrote,  ‘my  courage  almost  left  me.'  God  was  merciful, 
the  heavenly  physician  touched  the  pain  racked  body ;  from 
the  brink  of  the  grave  the  wife  came  back.  Then,  almost  at 
once,  for  the  ice  had  formed  to  make  it  possible  for  dogs  to 
travel,  the  husband  had  to  set  forth  in  quest  of  food  over  the 
treacherous  ice,  in  the  Arctic  night,  one  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  to  the  south  and  as  many  back,  with  the  milk  and 
wholesome  food  for  the  half-famished  family.  Then  four 
months  of  the  usual  routine  of  mission  work,  and  another 
trial,  for  the  death  angel  for  the  first  time  Ausited  the  family 
of  one  of  our  missionaries  on  the  field.  Priscilla  ATlton 
wrote  saying,  ‘That  e\^ening  she  lay  on  my  lap  so  long  look¬ 
ing  into  my  face  with  such  an  eager  look  as  if  she  was  trying 
to  tell  me  she  was  going  to  be  at  home  that  night  with  Jesus. 
She  could  only  look  the  loA^e  she  could  not  speak.  She  had 
not  been  ill,  she  was  never  strong,  but  she  drank  her  milk 
and  was  so  quiet.  We  felt  she  Avas  having  such  a  sweet 
sleep.  She  did  not  waken  at  six  and  I  went  to  her  cradle, 
but  baby  was  gone.  We  ncA^er  knew  when  she  left  the 
world.  The  smile  Avas  still  upon  her  face,  her  little  hands 
raised  slightly  as  she  welcomed  the  angel  when  he  stooped 
to  take  her.  The  day  passed  as  in  a  dream.  We  tried  to 
have  everything  as  we  did  Avhen  a  native  child  passed  aAvay. 
We  did  not  want  them  to  feel  that  we  had  CA-er  slighted 
their  dead,  but  how  Ave  did  want  to  put  something  soft  and 
dainty  in  the  rough  little  box.  We  took  the  little  box  out 
in  the  dark  in  the  blinding  storm.  I  had  felt  that  at  the  last 
I  could  not 'bear  to  have  the  body  put  in  the  cold  frozen 
ground,  but  a  light  broke  forth  and  He  whispered,  “That  in 
heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  my  Father 
Avhich  is  in  heaven,’’  and  I  could  see  her  in  the  sunshine  of 
His  presence,  the  first  sunshine  the  little  darling  had  ever 
seen.’  ” 

In  1905  a  new  station  AA^as  opened  at  another  place  200 

6 


miles  up  the  Kobtick  River,  with  James  V.  Geary  in  charge. 
In  1907  Eli  and  Minnie  Myers  took  this  work  and  remained 
there  until  1910.  They  taught  the  natives  to  build  comfort¬ 
able  houses,  and  organized  a  church  and  did  other  helpful 
things.  In  1906  James  Geary  came  to  Kotzebue  and  was 
joined  there  by  Eva  Watson,  to  whom  he  was  married. 
They  remained  in  this  field  three  years,  then  were  in  Cali¬ 
fornia  one  year  and  are  now  at  Icy  Cape,  next  to  the  most 
northern  station  in  the  world,  having  charge  of  a  govern¬ 
ment  school.  Herbert  York  and  wife  have  had  charge  for  a 
time  of  the  government  school  at  Kivalena ;  Elmer  Hamden 
and  wife  at  Noatak  and  Leslie  Sickles  and  wife  at  Selawick. 

In  1909  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Benjamin  Newsome  went  to  Deer- 
ing;  he,  as  Government  doctor  to  the  Eskimos,  and  she  as 
teacher,  but  were  only  able  to  stay  two  years  on  account  of 
her  failing  health.  All  of  these  have  rendered  good  service 
in  various  lines  on  the  field. 

In  1909  Wilson  and  Lucy  Cox  took  the  work  at  Kotze¬ 
bue  ;  he  as  superintendent  and  missionary  and  she  as  teacher 
for  the  Government.  The  splendid  executive  and  business 
ability  of  Wilson  H.  Cox  has  been  used  to  organize  churches, 
build  homes,  promote  evangelism  and  develop  respect  for 
law.  They  expect  to  return  to  the  home  land  this  summer 
of  1912. 

In  1911  Martha  Hunnicutt  and  Rhoda  Hare  went  to 
Deering,  the  latter  as  missionary  and  the  former  as  teacher 
to  be  assisted  by  Ashugak,  a  native  girl  who  had  been  raised 
and  educated  by  Anna  Hunnicutt  Foster,  and  who  had  pre¬ 
viously  assisted  Bertha  Cox  in  school  work  at  this  station. 

This  year,  1912,  Milton  White  and  wife,  of  Whittier 
College,  go  to  Kotzebue  to  take  the  work ;  he  as  missionary 
and  superintendent  and  Robert  and  Carrie  Samms  have  gone 
back  as  teacher — missionaries  at  Selawick. 

The  introduction  of  reindeer  into  Alaska  marked  a  great 
change  in  the  condition  of  the  natives.  The  policy  of  the 
government  is  to  loan  one  hundred  deer  to  a  mission,  the 

7 


mission  to  support  the  herders  and  at  the  end  of  five  years 
the  original  number  is  returned  to  the  government  and 
the  mission  has  the  increase. 

There  is  now  held  each  year  at  Kotzebue  in  August  a 
conference  at  which  the  missionaries  and  native  members 
from  the  various  stations  confer  as  to  the  best  interests  of 
the  work  and  unitedly  pray  for  God’s  blessing  upon  it. 

The  report  of  the  missionary  superintendent  of  Cali¬ 
fornia  Yearly  jMeeting  for  1912  shows  that  there  are  six 
churches,  with  a  membership  of  669,  and  property  at  an 
estimated  value  of  $14,100,  including  two  reindeer  herds. 
The  blessing  of  the  Lord  has  been  upon  the  effort  in  a 
marked  way.  It  has  been  characteristic  of  the  work  that 
decisions  have  had  to  be  reached  quickly.  Testimonies  have 
been  given  by  white  men  in  that  country  of  the  lives  of  the 
converted  natives  that  have  been  a  fitting  rebuke  to  'their 
own  actions. 


Aurora 


8 


Guatemala,  Central  America 


The  attention  of  California  Yearly  Meeting  was  first 
called  to  Central  America  as  a  mission  field  in  the  report 
of  the  missionary  superintendent  for  the  year  ending  in 
June,  1902.  In  enumerating  those  who  had  been  students 
of  the  Training  School  and  were  out  in  service,  mention  is 
made  of  two  who  were  in  “neglected  Guatemala.”  These 
were  two  young  men  who  had  gone  out  at  the  call  of  the 
Lord,  previous  to  that  date,  to  do  colportage  work.  They 
were  Thomas  J.  Kelley  and  Clark  Buckley.  After  laboring 
for  awhile  Kelley  returned  for  recruits  and  Buckley  went  on 
with  the  work  and  some  time  after  literally  laid  down  his 
life  in  his  Master’s  service.  He  was  found  dead  by  the 
roadside  with  his  pack  of  Bibles  and  tracts.  News  of  this 
did  not  reach  the  States  until  some  time  after.  Thomas 
Kelley  presented  the  claims  of  the  work  and  five  Friends 
made  ready  to  return  with  him  to  Central  America.  These 
were  Esther  Bond  and  Alice  Zimmer,  Charles  Bodwell,  wife 
and  two  children,  and  Mida  Lawrence,  to  whom  Thomas 
Kelley  was  married.  This  band  visited  most,  if  not  all,  of 
the  meetings  of  Southern  California  before  they  started. 
Thomas  Kelley  was  in  failing  health  and  the  rest  went  on 
to  the  field,  he  and  his  wife  tarrying  and  lie  died  soon  after. 
This  band  received  donations  1)ut  went  out  without  any  or¬ 
ganization  back  of  them,  in  1903. 

In  1904  this  work  had  the  recognition,  apiu'oval  and  en¬ 
couragement  of  the  Yearly  Meeting’s  Missionary  Board, 
which  stood  in  an  advisory  relation  to  it  without  pledging 
any  support.  Report  was  made  in  1905  of  the  colportage 
work  of  Charles  Bodwell ;  his  wife  and  children  had  returned 
lo  the  States.  A  native  lady  and  child  was  living  with 
Esther  Bond  and  Alice  Zimmer.  Fifteen  had  publicly  pro¬ 
fessed  conversion. 

From  the  beginning  the  burden  of  this  work  seemed  to 
rest  upon  the  Christian  Endeavors  of  the  Yearly  Meeting; 

9 


the  following  quotation  from  the  minutes  of  California 
Yearly  Meeting  for  1906  shows  how  it  was  finally  adopted 
as  a  part  of  the  mission  work  of  the  Yearly  Meeting. 

From  the  minutes  of  a  joint  session  of  the  Board  of 
Missions  and  W.  F.  M.  S.  held  Eleventh  month  9th,  1905, 
the  following  is  taken  :  “The  following  communication  was 
received  from  the  Christian  Endeavor  Union:  For  the  past 
few  years  some  of  our  young  people  of  California  Yearly 
Meeting  have  been  looking  for  a  field  in  which  the  En¬ 
deavors  could  work  as  a  Union.  As  we  followed  the  Mas¬ 
ter’s  leadings  the  open  door  presented  was  Guatemala,  with 
our  two  spirit-filled  workers,  Esther  Bond  and  Alice  Zim¬ 
mer.  At  the  Christian  Endeavor  session  at  our  last  Yearly 
Meeting  our  missionary  superintendent  was  instructed  to 
take  pledges  for  Guatemala,  and  when  the  amount  reached 
$250  to  ask  the  Yearly  Meeting  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
to  adopt  the  field  and  let  us  be  responsible  for  raising  the 
required  amount.  The  Lord  has  now  answered  our  prayers 
and  has  given  us  more  than  we  asked.  We  have  pledges 
for  $276.40  and  two  societies  to  hear  from.  Yours  for  the 
million  and  a  half  in  dark  Guatemala.” 

It  was  freely  discussed  and  the  following  resolution  was 
unanimously  passed:  “Resolved,  that  we  congratulate  the 
Christian  Endeavor  and  thank  God  that  they  have  succeeded 
in  securing  liberal  pledges  for  the  support  of  the  Guatemala 
field,  and  that  this  Board  approves  the  adoption  of  this  field, 
and  recommends  that  California  Yearly  Meeting  of  Eriends 
Church  assume  that  field  on  behalf  of  the  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  they  becoming  responsible 
for  its  support  without  dropping  their  present  engage¬ 
ments.” 

The  interest  of  the  work  in  that  field  was  greatly 
strengthened  by  the  presence,  at  Yearly  Meeting  in  1906,  of 
].  T.  Butler,  a  missionary  from  Guatemala.  At  this  Year¬ 
ly  Aleeting  R.  Esther  Smith  made  known  the  call  of  the 
Lord  that  had  come  to  her  to  labor  for  Him  in  dark  Central 

10 


dcred  helpful  service.  Alice  Zimmer’s  health  failed  and  she 
came  home.  hZsther  Jloiid  left  the  field  after  three  years  of 
\aried  and  faithful  service.  She  had  taught  English  for  a 
while  in  tlie  college  at  Chiquimula.  R.  Esther  Smith  and 
Cora  ildman,  who  had  gone  out  with  her,  were  alone  in 
the  field  in  1908.  Cora  Wildman  is  sup])orted  by  a  company 
of  Eriends  living  at  Long  Beach,  known  as  Company  A. 

In  the  report  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  jqo8  Esther  Smith 


Sara  of  Guatemala 


America.  Her  zeal  for  mission  work  in  the  past  gave 
j^romise  of  fruitful  service  in  the  new  field.  The  Yearly 
Meeting  united  in  recommending  to  the  Bible  Schools  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting  that  they  ado])t  R.  Esther  Smith  as  their 
missionary  and  contribute  to  her  su])port.  This  was  done 
and  she  is  called  the  children’s  missionary.  Truman  White 
was  in  the  mission  in  (Tpspiii'^ii^da  for  a  short  time  and  ren- 

11 


says :  Cora  Wildman  has  traveled  245  miles  by  mule  while 
my  portion  has  been  650  miles  by  mule,  400  miles  by  train 
and  30  miles  by  water.  We  have  made  21  journeys  on  mule 
back  solely  for  the  sake  of  the  gospel  and  never  one  has  been 
in  vain,  with  ever  the  felt  presence  of  Him  who  said,  “And 
lo  I  am  with  you.’’ 

In  November,  1908,  R.  Esther  Smith  left  for  home  and 
Cora  Wildman  was  left  alone  except  for  the  presence  of  a 
Spanish  woman,  Josef ina  Galvez,  who  entered  the  work  as 
teacher  in  the  Girls’  School,  which  was  opened  in  November, 
1908.  This  year,  1908,  marked  the  beginning  of  greater  per¬ 
manency  in  the  work,  and  new  workers  entered  the  field. 
Stella  Parish,  a  spirit-filled,  Peniel  worker,  was  one. 

In  October,  1909,  Irvin  H.  Cammack,  wife,  and  little 
daughter  went  out  as  workers,  Caspar  Wistar  a  young  Phil¬ 
adelphia  Friend,  as  doctor,  Mae  Burke  as  teacher,  and 
Esther  Smith,  the  superintendent,  returned  to  the  work. 
Three  pieces  of  land  have  been  purchased,  William  K. 
Green,  of  Whittier,  supplying  the  money  for  two,  a  farm  of 
twenty  acres  and  a  site  for  a  home  for  the  workers,  and 
Lydia  Cammack,  the  money  for  a  site  for  the  Girls’  School. 
The  Boys’  School  is  on  the  farm.  The  buildings  for  the 
Boys’  School  and  for  the  home  are  in  process  of  erection. 
The  farm  has  been  a  strong  helper.  As  an  object  lesson,  a 
call  to  thrift,  a  producer  of  necessities,  a  paragraph  from 
Nature’s  book,  it  makes  its  appeal  for  better  homes  and  bet¬ 
ter  health,  along  with  Bible  evangelism.  The  products  and 
methods  of  the  farm  have  brought  visitors  of  all  ranks.  This 
has  served  as  an  opi)ortunity  to  the  furtherance  of  the  gos¬ 
pel.  ddie  Girls’  School  was  reopened  in  June  of  1912,  with 
an  attendance  of  fifty,  and  the  Boys’  School  was  opened  for 
the  first  time  and  has  an  enrollment  of  twenty.  The  “Juven- 
tud,”  a  paper  for  young  people,  is  published,  with  a  circula¬ 
tion  of  10,000  monthly.  Some  work  has  been  done  along 
the  line  of  Bible  training  for  native  workers. 

Cora  Wildman  came  home  for  a  year’s  rest  in  the  fall  of 

12 


iQii.  Ward  and  Emma  Munsell,  mission  workers  from 
California,  went  to  the  field  in  the  spring  of  1912.  Their 
going  and  the  Ijoys’  School  were  made  possible  by  the 
Men’s  League  in  the  Friends  Church  at  Whittier.  He 
teaches  carpentry  and  she  sewing.  Maud  Burns,  of  Havi- 
land,  Kansas,  and  a  graduate  of  the  Training  School  at 
Huntington  Park,  California,  enters  the  field  this  summer 
of  1912,  and  expects  to  be  matron  in  the  Girls’  Home.  She 
is  supported  by  the  Friends  of  Haviland  Quarterly  Meeting, 
Kansas. 

The  membership  reported  in  June,  1911,  was  187,  and  in 
June,  1912,  the  report  comes  of  a  gain  of  100  the  past  year, 
three  chapels  donated  for  use  and  twenty  congregations  at 
preaching  stations.  The  work  has  been  strongly  evange¬ 
listic  and  some  strong  native  workers  are  doing  good  serv¬ 
ice  among  their  own  people.  There  is  much  to  encourage 
as  they  press  on  following  the  Lord’s  leading. 


Our  Work  Among  the  Spanish 

While  the  children  of  Israel  may  not  have  felt  or  have 
been  under  any  special  obligation,  either  financially  or 
spiritually,  to  the  people  whose  land  they  came  to  possess, 
that  was  not  the  case  with  the  children  of  God  of  the 
Protestant  faith  who  began  more  than  a  half  centiirg  ago 
to  settle  upon  the  fertile  hills  and  valleys  of  California,  then 
possessed  largely  by  Spanish  speaking  people,  mostly  within 
the  Catholic  church.  Some  of  the  larger  denominations 
have  had  a  growing  work  among  them  for  a  number  of 
years. 

Friends  were  later  on  the  field,  but  early  in  their  history 
as  a  church  here,  and  before  the  organization  of  a  Yearly 
Meeting,  many  of  its  members  were  interested  in  the  Span¬ 
ish  speaking  people,  and  personal  work,  visitation  in  their 
homes,  etc,,  was  being  done,  and  a  plan  was  on  foot  to 
secure  some  one  acquainted  with  the  language  to  come  and 
labor  among  them. 

The  Wh  F.  M.  Union,  organized  at  the  same  lime  as  the 
Yearly  Meeting,  Third  month,  1895,  was  given  charge  of 
the  mission  work,  with  an  advisory  board  from  the  Yearly 
Meeting. 

The  work  among  the  Spanish  was  continued  under  the 
new  organization,  as  previously  begun,  until  Third  month, 
1898,  when  it  was  decided  to  unite  with  the  Interdenomina¬ 
tional  Spanish  Society,  then  working  in  Southern  California. 
Members  from  our  church,  on  that  Board,  took  an  active 
part  in  fostering  and  directing  the  work. 

The  Interdenominational  Society  disbanded,  and  the 
AV.  F.  M.  S.  in  1902,  “seeing  the  deep  need  of  foreign  work 
at  home,  that  of  giving  the  gospel  to  Spanish  speaking  peo¬ 
ple  at  our  door,  who  are  without  the  knowledge  of  Christ,” 
again  took  up  the  work  and  decided  to  engage  Ervin  and 
Margaret  Taber  to  give  their  entire  time  to  the  field.  The 
Tabers  were  then  located  in  San  Diego,  he,  as  pastor  of  the 

14 


church,  and  she  as  missionary  to  the  S])anish  t)eoj)le  of  that 
city,  among  whom  she  had  not  only  made  250  visits  in  gos- 
]')el  service  during  the  year,  but  distributed  many  pounds  of 
literature,  consisting  of  tracts  and  the  Spanish  scriptures. 
A  like  work  had  been  done  in  Los  Angeles  when  the  Tabers 
were  located  there,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  taking 
the  work  when  they  le^ft. 

They  removed  with  their  family  to  Whittier,  August, 
1902,  and  entered  heartily  into  the  work  of  holding  meetings, 
house  to  house  visitation,  distribution  of  Scriptures,  cloth.- 
ing,  and  other  necessities,  as  the  time  demanded. 


Girls  from  tlie  Spanish  Home 


The  efforts  of  our  missionaries  among  this  people  ha(l 
been  so  successful  that  at  the  missionary  session  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting  in  1908,  a  number  of  believers,  mostly 
women  and  children,  were  present  and  rendered  songs  and 
repeated  Scri])ture  texts  in  their  own  language,  ddiis  was 
repeated  at  following  Yearly  Meetings. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  by  special  sul)scri])tion  provided  a 
horse  and  buggy  for  both  Fuwin  and  Margaret  Taber  that 
they  might  have  access  to  their  widely  scattered  people  and 

la 


in  one  year  they  report  128  meetings  held  and  1,945  visits 
made.  AV'ood-choppers’  camps  and  walnut  pickets’  tents 
were  sought  out,  often  their  bodily  wants  supplied,  and  the 
gospel  preached  to  them. 

As  the  light  of  hlie  gospel  shone  in  upon  this  people 
some  who  had  been  living  for  years  as  man  and  wife,  yet 
unmarried,  saw  the  evil  of  their  way  and  came  to  our  mis¬ 
sionaries  to  be  united  in  holy  wedlock. 

The  knowledge  of  the  Spanish  language  by  our  mission¬ 
aries  also  opened  the  way  for  helpfulness  when  any  of  the 
people  were  called  into  courts  of  justice  and  other  times  of 
need. 

Deserted  wives,  of  whom  there  are  many,  and  homeless 
children  made  a  strong  appeal  to  their  sympathy  and  their 
home  became  both  a  Mecca  and  a  Bethel  for  many  burdened 
hearts. 

As  the  work  among  the  children  is  the  most  hopeful  and 
helpful  in  all  countries  and  among  all  people,  and  the  piti¬ 
able  condition  of  many  of  the  children  in  the  Spanish  homes 
had  specially  appealed  to  us,  .it  was  decided  to  make  an 
earnest  effort  to  help  them,  so,  in  June  of  1909,  a  committee 
was  appointed  for  that  purpose  and  in  September  a  Spanish 
Mission  and  Industrial  Home  was  organized  at  the  home  of 
Philena  B.  Hadley  at  Whittier,  with  three  children,  who 
had  come  to  us  without  solicitation  on  our  part. 

This  home  is  under  the  care  of  the  W.  F.  M.  Union  and 
now  numbers  eighteen,  with  many  others  waiting  for  ad¬ 
mission.  Carrie  E.  Wilmore  has  efficiently  served  as  teach¬ 
er,  and  Philena  Hadley  as  superintendent  and  matron,  and 
through  the  influence  of  the  home  and  school,  the  children 
have  not  only  advanced  rapidly  on  educational  lines,  but  in 
deportment  and  in  things  divine  as  well. 

When  they  visit  at  their  homes  they  have  a  marked  in¬ 
fluence  for  Christ  in  many  cases  and  the  outlook  for  the 
future  is  very  promising. 

Lots  have  1)een  bought  and  arrangements  for  suitable 

16 


buildings  are  well  under  way  for  the  future  home  and  school, 
ileiiry  and  Clara  Johnson,  with  Mary  M.  Brown,  are  now 
giving-  much  time  and  other  considerations  to  this  work. 

A  gospel  service  and  Sabbath  school  at  Whittier  and 
Los  Nietos  and  Junior  Christian  Endeavor  Society  at  El 
Modena,  with  the  Industrial  Home  and  School  also  at  Whit¬ 
tier,  are  seme  of  the  organized  efforts  of  the  past  years. 

Although  our  beloA^ed  missionary  Ervin  Taber  was  re¬ 
cently  called  home,  Margaret  continues  with  unabated  in¬ 
terest  in  the  work  so  near  the  heart  of  both,  and  in  the 
school  and  elsewhere  sees  the  fruitage  of  past  years  of  con¬ 
secrated  labor. 


17 


Work  Among  the  Japanese 

The  latest  branch  of  missionary  work  undertaken  by 
California  Friends  is  that  among  the  Japanese,  many  thou¬ 
sands  of  whom  have  come  to  our  shores. 

The  initial  work  was  done  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Takahashi, 
then  residing  in  Oakland,  the  latter  being  a  graduate  and 
teacher  at  Friends’  school  in  Tokyo,  Japan. 

Seeing  the  temptations  their  countrymen  in  that  city, 
away  from  friends  and  home,  were  exposed  to,  dhey  opened 
their  home  to  them  on  the  Sabbath  day  to  draw  them  away 
from  the  pool  room  and  other  hurtful  places. 

In  May  of  1903,  three  Berkeley  Friends,  Ernest  L.  Greg¬ 
ory,  Sadie  Cash,  wife  of  Herbert  Cash,  then  pastor  of  the 
Berkeley  church,  and  Nannie  M.  Arnold  attended,  by  pre¬ 
vious  arrangement,  a  Sabbath  evening  service  for  the  Japa¬ 
nese  at  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Takahashi,  the  last  named 
giving  the  gospel  message,  Mrs.  Takahashi  interpreting. 
One  convert  to  Christ  and  four  names  for  church  member¬ 
ship  were  the  result  of  this  meeting. 

The  W.  F.  M.  S.  and  Christian  Endeavor  of  Berkeley 
Eriends  church  were  asked  to  take  and  carry  on  the  work, 
which  they  did  until  October,  1904,  when  an  evening  school 
and  Sabbath  afternoon  gospel  service  for  Japanese  was 
begun  in  the  Berkeley  church,  several  of  the  interested  Japa¬ 
nese  having  removed  to  that  city.  A  mother’s  meeting  was 
organized  later  and  is  still  carried  on. 

Ernest  L.  Greg'ory  very  efficiently  superintended  the 
work  for  a  considerable  time  and  was  followed  by  J.  J. 

•  Jessup.  Several  were  reached  with  the  gospel  and  joined 
the  church,  one  Japanese  woman  with  a  very  bright  Chris¬ 
tian  experience  was  made,  and  still  is,  an  elder  in  the  church. 
Several  of  the  Japanese  Eriends  have  returned- to  their  na¬ 
tive  land,  and  for  lack  of  workers  the  night  school  has  been 
abandoned. 

Work  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State  began  a  year  or 

18 


two  later  and  hi  1908  Ella  C.  V^eedcr,  then  Yearly  Meeting 
superintendent  of  Japanese  work,  reported  that  in  a  second 
year’s  work  at  Long  Leach  she  had  “taught  225  nights  and 
75  afternoons,”  and  that  frequently  gospel  meetings  had 
been  held  for  all  the  Japanese  in  the  city.  She  also  re¬ 
ported  that  work  at  El  Modena  had  resulted  in  a  class 
(night  school)  of  40  and  13  converts.  Josiah  Winslow  and 
others  had  the  work  in  charge  at  that  time.  These  students, 
as  were  those  of  the  night  school,  organized  about  the  same 
time  at  East  W'hittier,  with  Phoebe  Pierce  now  a  missionary 


George  K.  Tsiikamota  Samuel  Nagata  Buiiji  Kida 


to  China  in  charge,  were  from  the  large  ranches  nearby 
where  they  found  em])loyment.  As  these  people  are  almost 
':ontinually  changing  locations  on  account  of  work,  any 
organized  effort  for  them  has  a  fluctuating  experience,  hut 
if  the  good  seed  is  diligently  sown  results  always  follow. 

Lonely  and  homesick  as  most  of  them  are,  the  first  ap¬ 
proach  must  he  by  kindly  word  or  deed  and  confidence  he 
gained,  hence  the  social  side  is  emphasized  in  all  our  work 
as  well  as  the  educational  and  spiritual. 

fn  1908  a  work  was  started  at  Pasadena  by  the  monthly 


meeting  at  the  earnest  request  of  May  \Milte,  and  has 
steadily  grown  and  developed.  It  now  has  a  night  school, 
Sabbath  school  and  Christian  Endeavor  Society.  One  night 
a  week  is  devoted  to  Bible  study,  followed  by  a  short  Bible 
lesson  by  the  pastor  or  one  of  the  teachers.  Once  a  month 
an  evening  is  given  to  English  practice  when  the  teachers 
and  friends  are  entertained  by  the  students  with  songs,  ad¬ 
dresses  and  testimonies  in  English.  Many  of  the  students 
have  been  converted  and  joined  the  church. 

Last  year  a  Japanese  Home  was  opened,  where  the  Chris¬ 
tian  young  men  and  others  may  find  a  safe,  clean  and  con¬ 
genial  place  to  live. 

Night  school  at  Whittier  and  also  East  Whittier  as  men¬ 
tioned  before,  both  under  the  auspices  of  the  W.  E.  M.  S., 
have  been  held  with  good  results,  most  of  the  students  hav¬ 
ing  been  reached  with  the  gospel  and  several  have  joined 
the  church. 

Recently  a  neat,  new  bungalow  has  been  secured  at 
Whittier  and  nicely  furnished  by  the  W.  F.  M.  S.  and  Sun¬ 
day  school  classes.  A  class  in  Bible  study  and  a  gospel 
service  in  charge  of  S.  Nagata,  a  student  in  Whittier  Col¬ 
lege,  are  conducted  each  Sabbath  afternoon.  A  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
has  also  recently  been  organized  by  the  Christian  young 
men  from  AYJiittier  and  East  Whittier.  Several  women  and 
young  men  have  been  engaged  as  English  teachers  at  dif¬ 
ferent  times  in  the  work,  but  not  at  present.  The  committee 
now  in  charge  are,  Alberta  Beede,  Grace  White  and  Clara 
Kenworthy. 

Having  proven  by  our  work  our  interest  in  the  Japanese 
people  who  were  doubtless  sent  to  us  by  the  Father  for  this 
intent.  He  sent  in  1907,  for  our  help  and  encouragement, 
Bunji  Kida,  an  evangelist  from  Japan. 

He  had  come  with  the  thought  of  studying  evangelism  in 
Friends  churches  in  America  and  England.  He  visited 
many  of  our  Yearly  Meetings,  but  with  the  growing  feeling^ 
that  he  ought  to  return  to  labor  with  the  thousands  of  his 

20 


people  on  this  coast.  He  followed  his  convictions,  returned 
and  stated  the  fact  to  the  Yearly  Meeting.  He  was  en¬ 
dorsed  by  the  Yearly  Meeting  Board  of  Missions  and  imme¬ 
diately  began  his  labors  by  visiting  towns  and  settlements 
where  the  Japanese  were  found  in  any  number,  as  the  way 
opened. 

Most  of  these  people  are  Buddists,  and  while  the  work 
has  been  slow  it  has  steadily  progressed. 

A  good  work  has  since  been  organized  at  Uplands,  with 
a  night  school,  and  Sabbath  school  on  each  Sabbath  after¬ 
noon  and  a  gospel  service  once  a  month  or  oftener  in  camps, 
by  Bunji  Kida  and  other  workers.  Several  converts  have 
been  made.  This  work  was  organized  and  is  sustained 
wholly  by  William 'and  Lydia  Cammack.  Lots  have  been 
secured  for  a  home  and  other  work  in  the  near  future. 

Work  has  been  begun  by  Eunice  J.  Pearson  at  Bell  meet¬ 
ing,  which  promises  larger  development. 

For  the  past  three  years  on  Sabbath  of  our  Yearly  Meet¬ 
ing,  a  meeting  in  the  afternoon  is  held  for  the  Japanese  with 
services  in  their  own  language. 

In  August  of  last  year  a  deserted  pool  room  at  227^^ 
North  San  Pedro  street,  Los  Angeles,  in  a  strong  Japanese 
quarter,  was  secured  and  nicely  fitted  up.  Gospel  services 
on  the  Sabbath,  with  street  meetings,  prayer  meeting,  and 
night  school  during  the  w'eek  have  been  kept  up.  Two 
special  evangelistic  services  have  been  held  by  Bunji  Kida 
and  thirty  have  claimed  conversion,  with  sixteen  names  for 
the  Friends  church  in  that  city.  A  mission  church  has  been 
organized  among  them  with  a  simple  confession  of  faith. 

Considerable  Bible  distribution  has  been  done  and  more 
is  contemplated. 

The  work  and  itinerary  of  Bunji  Kida  has  included  El 
Modena,  Newmark,  Pasadena,  Bell,  Uplands,  East  Whittier 
and  Whittier,  as  well  as  Los  Angeles,  and  a  greater  in¬ 
gathering  of  this  people  is  hoped  for  and  looked  for,  by  all 
who  are  laboring  for  them. 


31 


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